Cam-acting garment hanger



July 1 4 A. w. GUTHRIE 2,445,351

CAM-ACTING GARMENT HANGER Filed Dec. 27, 1946 Patented July 27, 1948 I UNITED STATES PATENT ,OFFICIE 2,445,851 i '1 CAM-ACTING GARMENT HANGER Alvin Guthrie, Chicago, Ill. Application December 27, 1946, seriarNe. 718,856

3 Claims. (Cl. 223--89) associated with supporting pins and cams; wherein the jaws may be slid outward in gripping relation with the garment and which, when so positioned, will remain in the gripping position holding the garment in tension and suspending itfrom the horizontal bar of the hanger. I The purpose of this invention is, therefore, to provide an improved garment hanger wherein gripping jaws are slidably mounted in a lower horizontal bar thereof and designed so that their inner ends form cams that coact with an inner surface of the bar to lock the jaws in substantially any position to which they are moved.

Garment hangers have been provided in which the width thereof is adjustable, and others have been provided with resiliently mounted skirt and trousers-supporting elements, but these are comparatively complicated, and the cost of manufacturing thereof is prohibitive.

The object of this invention is to provide gripping elements for skirts, trousers and the like in combination with garment hangers wherein all resilient elements and substantially all moving parts are eliminated.

Another object is to provide a garment hanger having garment-gripping jaws slidably mounted in the lower horizontal bar thereof wherein the tension of the garment supported by the jaws locks the jaws in substantially any position to which they are moved.

Another object is to provide means for mounting gripping jaws in a horizontal member of a garment hanger wherein the jaws are readily adjustable to grip garments of different sizes.

Another object of the invention is to provide gripping jaws in a horizontal member of a garment hanger wherein the jaws may be adjusted to suspend garments in tension so that creases and the like will remain in the garments.

Another object is to provide gripping elements in combination with a garment hanger wherein comparatively short garments may bepositively suspended and held to the hanger until manually released. r

A further object is to provide a garment hanger having slidable cam-acting gripping jaws in a lower horizontal member thereof which is of a simple and economical construction;

With these and other objects in view, the invem tion embodies a garment hanger having a centrally disposed hook with downwardly sloping depending arms, a horizontal bar suspended from the ends of the arms, and gripping jaws with camshaped inner ends slidably and pivotally mounted in said horizontal barf l Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following" description taken in connection with the drawings wherein: 3 l Figure 1 is a view showing a side elevation of thegarment hanger with the gripping jaws extending'downward from a horizontal bar thereof Figure 2 is a cross-section through the horizontal bar'ofthe hanger on line 2-2 of Figure 1', showing one of the gripping jaws mounted in slots therein and with the upper portion of the hanger broken away.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section through one end of the garment hanger with parts broken away. Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference characters indicate corresponding parts, the garment hanger of this invention includes a horizontal bar In which is suspended in the ends of depending arms H and. I2 of a hanger element with a centrally disposed hook l3 associated with the upper ends of the depending arms.

The ends of the horizontal bar ID are mounted on the ends of the depending arms II and I2 by supporting elements l4 and l5, as illustrated in Figure 3, or the elements may be attached in any manner or by any means.

The horizontal bar l0 may be made of wood, plastic, metal or any suitable material, and it is preferably of U shape in cross-section, as illustrated in Figure 2. Centrally disposed in the bar is a continuous longitudinal slot IS with comparatively small side grooves l1 and I8 in which the extending ends of a pin l9 extending through a jaw 20 are slidably held.

The jaws 20 may be of any shape or design. However, in the design shown they are formed with tapering outer ends having knurled or roughened gripping surfaces H on their outer faces, and their inner ends are shaped as shown in Figure 3 with arcuate cam-shaped surfaces 22 positioned to contact an upper inner surface 23 at the end of the slot I6. With the inner ends of the jaws shaped in this manner, a garment held against the knurled surface 2| will urge the jaws to substantially vertical position, and the cam surfaces 22 will bind against the surface 23 with toggle or wedge action, thereby positively holding the jaws in substantially any position along the bar. It is only necessary, therefore, to place ohejsi' c iej of; the waistband of a""skirt on one of the jaws and then move the otherjaw outward to gripping relation with the upper side of the waistband, and then the jaw may be released as the cam surfaces win -positively,.hold both jaws in gripping relation with the'skirt.

The cam-acting garment hangerl'of "this invention, therefore, includes the elements, of a usual garment hanger including a h6'okwith depending downwardly sloping arms and a horizon tal bar suspended in the ends of the arms, and ea niimp me t ever the Pe a serm et. gene ip-b r J ws, p e e yl. e dslieablr mounted in said horizontal bar and extending-d nar Hem the nder s r e t ereef sh f-eth r ma r a i y ev pe ie edfer ripp a ien w h r s trousers e ot er g rm n s a d. h tension f t ar e t revi' sw el inae locking meansthat holds the jaws in gripping elfl Qn with e germ nts: .s

J The improvedgarment hanger of this invention 11 i u t e in i s. prefer d for /t l H wev r... t will be u erste d. that od at on i the design and structural elementsmay be; made without departing from the spirit of the inventiog c c it into grooves in the sides of the slot said camshaped inner ends being adapted, when rotated on said pins, to bind against the top of the slot for holding the jaws in selected positions, and said knurled surfaces being adapted to resist slipping of garments disposed thereagainst.

2. A garment hanger comprising a bar formed with a longitudinally-extending slot having opposed longitudinally-extending grooves on the inner 'surfacefthereof, andja fpair of gripping jaws 'with"ca'm-shaped inner ends disposed in said slot and provided with pivot pins extending into said grooves, said jaws being adapted tqbe movedslidably on their pins along said grooves to selected positions, and said cam- "sh'aped inner ends being adapted, when rotated neeE-senceseires e a The following references are of recordin the file "'of this "patent;

' UNITED sTATEl; Firms i Date Number Name p 4 695,924 Grotenhuis -Mar. 125, 21 902 ,5 3,285 Batts July V20', 1926 Bbhachef May 19, I942 

